89 replies to this topic

[BSLZackKiesel]

Two other players to watch for are 4-star high school teammates G Elmarko Jackson and C Papa Kante from South Kent, CT. Michigan is also recruiting both pretty hard.

[Mike B]

Two other players to watch for are 4-star high school teammates G Elmarko Jackson and C Papa Kante from South Kent, CT. Michigan is also recruiting both pretty hard.

Supposedly Kante was one of the first recruits for 23 that Willard called.  He would fill a large(no pun intended) need for Maryland..  

[BSLZackKiesel]

Maryland just picked up two Crystal Balls for 4-star G DeShawn Harris-Smith (Fairfax, VA). Currently ranked as the 2nd-best player in the state of Virginia.

He visited campus last week, and was offered a scholarship over the weekend. Tony Skinn is leading his recruitment.

Harris-Smith will be announcing his decision tomorrow at 6:00 PM ET. He’s expected to choose Maryland.

[Mike B]

Harris-Smith will be announcing his decision tomorrow at 6:00 PM ET. He’s expected to choose Maryland.

If he signs with Maryland, their 2023 class will be strong, and Popa Kante would really elevate it.  

[BSLZackKiesel]

Harris-Smith will be announcing his decision tomorrow at 6:00 PM ET. He’s expected to choose Maryland.

My bad, it’s actually Wednesday evening.

[BSLChrisStoner]

He commits to Maryland!  

Very grounded young man.

Coach Willard on a run.

[BSLZackKiesel]

Only took Willard a few months to silence anyone who had doubts about his recruiting ability.

[BSLMikeLowe]

Get the PG and C from Connecticut and he'll have one hell of a recruiting class, and in only his first full cycle.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

All SG/SF so far. WTF. And ranked between 96 and 150. Seems meh to me

[BSLZackKiesel]

All SG/SF so far. WTF. And ranked between 96 and 150. Seems meh to me

They currently have the 8th-best class in the country. That seems “meh” to you? lol

[TwentyThirtyFive]

Currently being the key word. And its because its 3 guys.

[BSLChrisStoner]

I'm all aboard the Willard train. Everything he said and done since coming on has been positive. No missteps. He gets what's important here and understands MD more after a few months than Turgeon did after a decade.

[TwentyThirtyFive]

 Rivals has all 3 guys in the Top 100. Like seeing that. 

[BSLZackKiesel]

Willard has already added two players from the WCAC. Turgeon had only three during his entire tenure at Maryland.

[Mike B]

Currently being the key word. And its because its 3 guy

 

He commits to Maryland!  

Very grounded young man.

Coach Willard on a run.

I think you have to be very good in the backcourt and wings to win in CBB.  Willard has gotten off to a very good start.

Lamonthe, Harris-Smith and Kaiser all are good recruits.  I read where Harris-Smith may play some point, which is fine, but hopefully Maryland can land a point guard to add to this group.

Then land Papa Kante and the class may land in the top 5.

[Mike B]

Willard has already added two players from the WCAC. Turgeon had only three during his entire tenure at Maryland.

And one was Reese Mona, who walked on at Maryland.  It is great to see Willard hitting the local area hard.

[BSLZackKiesel]

4-star F Mouhamed Dioubate (Flushing, NY) will be announcing his commitment on Sunday, choosing between Maryland, Alabama, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

[BSLZackKiesel]

4-star F Mouhamed Dioubate (Flushing, NY) will be announcing his commitment on Sunday, choosing between Maryland, Alabama, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

Dioubate is headed to Alabama. He was Maryland’s top target overall.

[BSLZackKiesel]

Maryland officially signed its 2023 recruiting class today. It ranks as the 11th-best class in the country, and the 3rd-best in the conference behind Michigan State and Ohio State. This is one of the team's best classes in recent memory, and the most local players to join in one class in 15 years. It's remarkable how much early success Kevin Willard has had on the recruiting trail.

• 4-star SG Jahnathan Lamothe (Baltimore, MD)
• 4-star SF DeShawn Harris-Smith (Fairfax, VA)
• 4-star SF Jamie Kaiser (Burke, VA)

[hallas]

So this is maybe a dumb question but can you spread the floor with 4 guards and an undersized center in NCAA? I seem to recall Gary and Turgeon having problems with small lineups, and it feels like there's a limit to how small you can go in the college game. But I felt like other coaches were much more capable of getting good results against high level competition with small lineups. I feel like this is a good class but we seem to be perpetually short big men lately.